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Bomb Kills Six in Bajaur

by AFP
File Photo

File Photo

No group has claimed responsibility for the IED blast yet.

A bomb explosion on Monday killed at least six people including a pro-government tribal elder in a restive Pakistani region near the Afghan border, officials said.

The attack took place in the village of Barkamar, part of the Bajaur tribal district where the military has been battling Taliban and other militants linked to Al Qaeda. “An improvised explosive device planted along the roadside went off as the vehicle of a local pro-government tribal elder, Malik Muhammad Jan, passed by it, leaving him and five others dead,” said senior district official Fayyaz-ul-Haq Sherpao. He said Malik Muhammad Jan was a leading member of a local peace committee, which in Pakistan works to apprehend militants operating in their areas.

Another local official, Shah Nazeer, confirmed the incident and casualty toll.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have often targeted pro-government tribal elders in the area.

Bajaur is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal districts along Pakistan’s mountainous western border. They became a hotbed of Islamist militants following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Pakistan began a long-awaited push to clear insurgent bases from the North Waziristan tribal district last June after a bloody Taliban attack on Karachi airport sank faltering peace talks.

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